Stabbing victim farewelled

By BRIDGET CARTER and NZPA

People placed presents around the coffin of Michael Heremaia at the South Auckland teenager's funeral yesterday.

A King Cobra gang member, who did not want to be named, said about 150 people had turned out to the Manukau Memorial Gardens to farewell the 15-year-old who was fatally stabbed at the weekend.

Michael was about to turn 16. People placed his birthday presents around his coffin, including a watch, concert tickets for American rapper 50 Cent - performing in New Zealand next month - and a gold chain.

Hip hop music played quietly in the background, and Michael's father, Jack Heremaia, spoke about how his son was a rebel, but that the family loved him.

Michael's funeral was held on the same day that two men appeared in Manukau District Court on charges relating to the teenager's slaying and the stabbing of another man, Michael George Brown Afeaki.

Mr Afeaki was in the same house on Sunday as Michael Heremaia when they were attacked. He escaped with a stab wound to his chest and a wound to his arm.

The King Cobra member who knew Michael Heremaia said Michael was living at the drug house where he was fatally stabbed, but he believed it was being run by another person.

The man said Michael wanted to be a King Cobra member, but he was too young. Members must be over 18.

On Tuesday, Michael's mother and two sisters made an emotional plea for those who knew anything about Michael's death to hand themselves over to police.

Michael's mother, Sharon Heremaia, called the men responsible for his death "cowards".

"[Michael] may have gone down the wrong road, but nobody deserves that," she said.

She warned parents and families to do whatever they could to keep their children away from gangs and from drugs.

Police believed that Michael was running a drug house for the King Cobra gang, but said the gang had no motive for the attack on the teenager.

His body was found in a pool of blood in the kitchen by the Heremaia family after 3am, when Mr Afeaki had arrived at their home to tell them what had occurred.

Results from a post-mortem examination showed that Michael sustained more than 20 knife wounds.

* James Leuluaialii, 22, and Benjamin Tumahai, 20, appeared in the Manukau District Court jointly charged with wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm to Michael George Brown Afeaki.

Another man also charged with wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm to Mr Afeaki appeared in the Manukau District Court on Tuesday.